Hatbox



G. BRUER HAT BOX Filed Dec. 10, 1928 INVENTOR a M BY I ATTORNEYS.

Dec: 9, 19309 Patented Dec. 9, 1930 UNITED STATES GENEVIEVE BRUER, OFSAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA HATBOX Application filed December 10, 1928.Serial No. 324,939.

ond object is to provide a box having a hat holding member which can, ifdesired, be removed and used to hold a hat in a travellingor storagecase. A still further object is to provide a hat holder which can bemade of cardboard and shipped flat in knocked down form,'thus reducingits cost to a minimum.

These and other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparentfrom the following description, which should be read with theunderstanding that the form, construction and arrangement of the severalparts may be varied, within the limits of the claims hereto appended,without departing from the spirit of the invention as defined therein.

A preferred embodiment of my invention will now be described withreference to the accompanying drawings, wherein Fig. 1 is a plan view ofa complete hat box with my holder therein.

Fig. 2 is a vertical section taken on the line 27-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the hat holding member removed from thebox.

Fig. 4 is a detail of the means for fastening the ends of the hatholding member beneath the base or bottom.

In the drawings, the reference numeral 1 designates a box of any shapeand type suitable for containing a hat. Within the box is a holdercomprising two strips 2 of flexible material bent into approximateU-shape and placed at right angles to each other, adapted to enter thecrown of the hat (not shown) and support the same with its brim elevatedabove the bottom of the box. I prefer to make the strips 2 of cardboard,which has enough resilience to cause them to assume the form tween thefalse and true bottoms.

shown in Figs. 2 and 3, with their sides bulging out to resiliently gripthe inside of the crown of the hat. The strips may be joined together atthe top, but such connection is not necessary.

zontally between said false bottom and the true bottom 5 of the box. Thefalse bottom 4 may be omitted, in which case the ends 3 of the strips 2would be passed through the true bottom 5 in a similar manner. Thislatter construction would be suitable in boxes intended only for thedelivery of hats from stores, but where the device is used in morepermanent boxes, such asarticles of luggage, the false bottom ispreferred. I

The ends 3 of the strips 2 may be fastened, to prevent them fromslippingout of place, in any suitable manner. As one example of such fastening,I have shown in Fig. 4 said ends as laced together by a tongue and slotconnection 6 similar to that commonly employed at the corners ofcardboard boxes. Suchconnection may be omitted, however, especially whenthe false bottom 4 is used, the strips 2 being held in placesufficiently by having their ends 3 bent horizontally be- It will beappreciated that my device can be made very cheaply of cardboard, andcan be shipped flat, consisting only ofthe two flat strips 2with orwithout the flat false bottom 4, which is also preferably made ofcardboard. It can be assembled easily and quickly, and forms a devicecapable of securely holding a hat out of contact with the walls of thebox. It is useful not only to the merchant in his shipping boxes, but,when the false bottom is employed, the entire holder may be removed bythe purchaser of a hat from the shipping box and placed within atravelling or storage case.

It will also be apparent that the height of the hat holding member canbe raised or lowered, merely by slipping the ends of the strips 2 in onedirection or the other, through the slots in the bottom or false bottom.Thus if the box is to contain a number of hats stacked a one uponanother, the ends of said strips are 7 pulled downwardly through theirslots, thus retaining member including a flexible strip.

lowering said strips so that the lowermost hat rests upon or is onlyvery slightly above the bottom of the box.

I claim e V I '1. The combination with a support, of a hat -retaini-nstrip bent su stantially in U-shape, the free ends of said strip beinginserted through slots in said bottom and bent inwardly towards oneanother, thereby creating a positive force acting through said strip tomaintain an-outwardbulge in the opposite side walls of th e strip abovethe support. I

2. The combination with a base, of a hat a Q bent substantially inu-shape, the free ends of'saidflstrip beinginserted through ,slots insaidbase and bent inwardly towards and secured to one another, therebycreating a positive force acting through saidstrip to, maint'ai n anoutward bulge in the opposite side walls ofthe strip above the base.

3. The combination with a receptacle hav- ,inga false bottom, of a hatretaining memrberv including a plurality of flexible strips fbentsubstantially in U-shape, one of said H strips disposed over and at anangle to another-of said strips, the free ends ofsaid strips beinginserted through slots in said 7 bottom and :bent inwardly towards oneanother, thereb creating a positive force acting throughsai strips tomaintain an outward bulge in the opposite side walls of the strips abovethe false bottom.

' 4. The combination with a base, of a hat retaining member including aplurality of flexible strips bent substantially in U-shape,

one ;of :said strips disposed over and at an angle to. another of saidstrips, the free ends of 7 'each' of said strips being inserted throughslots insaid base and bentinwardlytowards (and secured to one another,thereby creating a positive force acting through said strips to maintainan outward bulge in the opposite [side walls of the strips above thebase.

I In testimony whereof I have signed my name to thisspecification. I ,7I :GENEVIEVE BRU-ER- member including a :flexible

